Zero - Altitude - Jump
by ThinkingBeforeTalking
Summary: Death had brushed a scarlet omen on my chest, a warning of what could have been.
1. Zero

"WALT! ... WALT! ... (Radio Crackle) WALTER!"

"Yeah Ruby?"

"We just got call from Bridgestow Trailer Park again, looks like Bobby Everett's come back to harass the wife and kids. Do you want to take it or should I call Branch?"

"We're closer than he is so we'll go. Thanks Ruby."

"Hey Vic! ... Get it to go! We've got a domestic over at Bridgestow."

"But breakfast is the most important meal of the d ... Argh!" There was some unintelligible mumbling as she made her way back to the truck with our meal, she was really trying to be less abrasive around the local constituents but trying didn't make it so.

"Tomorrow I want to sit down and have breakfast at a table. Bacon, eggs and that other tasty thing that Dorothy won't tell me what it is."

"It's s ..."

"NO! Don't tell me ... she says I won't eat it otherwise." Vic wasn't too adventurous when it came country cuisine, when it came to meat there were only two choices, steak ... or steak.

"It's not Bobby Everett again is it?"

"Yep."

"Dammit, that guy just won't quit. We gotta lock him up for this one, he's violating his restraining order."

.  
.

"Looks like the Bobby's already had a few rounds."

We arrived at a shouting match between disgruntled husband Bobby Everett and his estranged wife Karen. Bobby, was a man in his mid-thirties from a good family but with a drinking problem that he just wasn't ready to face. He stood outside the trailer ranting and raving, clearly at the heights of intoxication. Karen was on the trailer's door steps wielding a Mossberg pump-action with her son and daughter hiding behind her.

"I'll get Bobby. Vic, you get that shotgun away from Karen before she hurts somebody."

"I WANNA SEE MY KIDS!"

"GET HIM OUTTA HERE OR I'LL SHOOT HIM DEAD!" Karen wasn't going to miss at that distance.

"C'mon Bobby, you're under a restraining order! You can't be here ..." I grabbed his arm and turned him to face me.

"LET go of me!"

"Look Bobby, I'd rather not cuff you in front of your kids ..."

"She's got no right sheriff! They're my kids too!" He struggled out of my grasp and made a final sprint towards the trailer, which left me no choice but to cuff him there and then.

Vic approached Karen and slowly reached for the Mossberg, removing it from her trembling hands. I asked Vic to hold on to Bobby, while I had a word with Karen who was still visibly shaken by the experience.

"Sheriff ... You gotta keep him away, he scared the kids this mornin' ... bangin' on the trailer, throwing bottles ... he's been drinkin' all night and ... and he just wouldn't stop!" She informed me between sobs.

"We'll keep him locked up for a couple days Karen but his dad will bail him out again. Maybe you could stay with a friend in town? Do you have any family here in Durant?"

While we spoke, I noticed her son who looked about seven or eight, peeking from behind her skirt, clearly still frightened, his eyes were fixed on Bobby. I watched him as he slowly lifted his arm aiming a revolver at his father, finger on the trigger. I lunged forward for the gun and pushed his arm away from the target but not before a shot was fired. The errant shot hit the edge of the trailer door.

"Hey Walt ..."

"Yeah ..." I was still holding the boy and removing the remaining shells in the gun, grateful he didn't hurt anyone. I heard a soft groan and turned to look behind me.

" ... I think he got me ..." She lifted her hand from her abdomen. There was so much blood.

They say time slows down with tragedy, every movement required more effort. I reached for her with all the speed I could muster, catching her before she staggered and fell backwards.

.  
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It seemed like an eternity before we reached Durant Memorial Hospital. I raced Vic into the ER, shouting for the attendants to help. They took her from my arms and lifted her onto a gurney, moving behind a shutter of machines, nurses and doctors.

"Sheriff ... you're going to have to wait outside."

That's when the silent panic set in.

.  
.

"Hey ... "

"Ow ... they don't tell you this in the gun manual ... but for future reference, being on the receiving end of a bullet hurts like hell."

She grimaced as she tried to move, her voice was still raspy after the surgery.

"Speaking of hell, did you go and come back or am I dying?

"No, but you had me going for a minute." I had a firm hold on her hand with both of mine, hoping that she wouldn't notice the slight quiver in my voice.

"I called your brother and uh ... they wanted to be here sooner but there's a snow storm. They couldn't get an earlier flight so they'll be here tomorrow. But I told them you were going to be ok ... the sur ... the surgery went well and you'll make a full recovery."

She pored into me with those potent eyes and it was like she could see into the deepest part of me, to see the dark clouds gathering in my soul. I broke with her gaze and tried to change the subject, to ramble on about something, anything that would take my mind off what I was compelled to do.

"Your mother was less than impressed ... something about not ever being shot in Philly but gets shot in the middle of nowhere."

"What's wrong Walt?"

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**2 days ago**

"Sheriff? ... Walt .. Hey Walt ... ?!"

"Hmmm, wha ... oh hey doc, how is she?"

We managed to stop the bleeding, removed the bullet and fragments from the ricochet. Being a small caliber at low velocity, the wounds were not as bad as they could have been. There was some damage to the spleen, kidney and surrounding tissue from the blast fragments but they should heal in time. She has loss a lot of blood and is still pretty week. So we'll keep her under a little longer in ICU. By all accounts, she's pretty lucky ... you'll be able to see her soon after we move her to her own room. Did you managed to contact her family?

"Ye ... yeah they're coming."

"Good, it's always good to have family around. Are you alright Walt? You should go home and get cleaned up, she'll be out for a few more hours."

I stopped listening. The cacophony of hospital sounds formed a blurry echo as I looked down at my shirt and hands, her blood was still on me. Death had brushed a scarlet omen on my chest, a warning of what could have been. Breathing became difficult, so I scrambled for the doors that led outside and used a nearby tree as a crutch for my failing courage.

.  
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**1 day ago**

"She will expect you to be here when she wakes up!"

"This place ... this place ... it's where people die ... Henry ... will you stay with her?"

"Walt, you are my brother, I will ride the last horse with you into the great beyond ... but I will not do this."

.  
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"Vic ... uh ... I ... I ... tried, I really did ... but I don't think I can do this."

"Do what?"

"Be here."

In a single moment of fear and irrational uncertainty, all the good I had ever done in my life unraveled.


	2. Altitude

From where I was, I could see his green truck coming along the lone road to my cabin. I wondered when he would show up.

I wasn't quite sure whether I wanted to speak with him yet, so I waited for him to finish searching the cabin before alerting him to my whereabouts.

"Walt? ... Walt?!"

"Up here!"

"I would ask why but I do not think your answer would make sense in your current state."

Truth be told I was in the tree to escape the parade of people who wanted to talk. First it was Cady, then Ruby, Ferg, even Omar tried to talk some sense into me. Except for one.

"Why don't we climb trees anymore Henry?"

"Because we used to fall out of them quite frequently, at our age, it starts to matter."

He made his way up the tree and sat on the same branch. He grabbed a can of Rainier from the six pack that I had next to me.

"What took you so long?"

"You, are a stubborn man. I waited for the others to soften you up."

He looked down at the pile of beer cans scattered at the foot of the tree.

"I see you have taken your next favorite pastime to a whole new level. Did you acquire a brewery in your stupor?"

"You know one of the great perks about being sheriff, people like to give you things, especially beer; and everyone knows my preference."

"That explains a lot, and why you always seem to be have an unlimited supply."

"Here." He handed me a burger.

"I assume you have not consumed any nutrients that did not come out of a can for some time."

"Thanks."

"When you have finished, a shower would not hurt either."

"How is she?"

"If you are asking about Vic, she is recovering and resting at home. The doctor said she should be able to return to work next month."

"Speaking of work, Ruby says you have not been there for the last two weeks. She says, Branch, is enjoying being in charge a little too much."

"I'm on vacation ... sightseeing."

"And when does your vacation come to an end, when the tree stops?"

Even in my drunken state, I could tell he was disappointed at my lack of fortitude.

"Did she ask about me?"

"Yes, but I think you can imagine what she had to say on that subject."

"Am I being punished Henry?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"Why what?"

"It seems every time I find some happiness, there's a heap of sadness waiting for me on the other side."

"Events happen throughout our lives, what we do in those situations determines whether they are good or bad."

"Well I guess I didn't do a good enough job then."

"You are so focused on all the bad that has happened, you cannot see any of the good that is right in front of you."

Am I being tested?

"It is called life Walt, there are no tests, except the ones we make for ourselves."

He sighed a heavy sigh, thinking he wasn't getting through to me.

"My grandmother used to tell me a story that the old nuns told her at Sunday school. She felt it was a story that transcended all religions and a lesson common to all people."

Henry gazed into the distance, as if he could see the story play out in front of him as he told it.

"It is about a good man who was very devout, he believed that God would be there to save him no matter what. One day, a large flood overwhelmed his small town and he stood on the roof of his house waiting to be saved. The towns people sent boats to his house and asked him to get in. He refused, and shouted, 'God will save me, I do not need your help!' Boat after boat would come and try to help, he would repeat the same words to them. Until the water reached a level too high and the boats stopped coming ... he drowned."

He turned to look at me one last time before he started to make his way down the tree.

"There is a flood Walt."

"What should I do Henry?"

You are a smart man, maybe when you decide to sober up, you will figure it out.


	3. Jump

A day after Henry's visit, I found myself sitting in the Bronco outside Vic's house with Lucian riding shotgun, literally. I had told him of my bout of cowardice at our weekly chess game and he insisted on accompanying me to face my demons, mostly because he was "sick of my whinin' " as he put it; and also to make sure I didn't chicken out, which was a possibility if he hadn't threatened me with his 12-gauge.

"Walt, do you want to know what my default position at this time in my life is?"

"Nope."

"To be that crotchety old buzzard that sits in the corner tellin' everybody what they're doin' wrong."

"So I've taken it upon myself, to inform the sheriff of this lovely county, that he's being a dumbass. Not your normal run of the mill dumbass mind you, but the champion of all dumbasses. So if you don't go over there and apologize for being a grandiose dumbass, you're gonna be a lonely sonofabitch dumbass. And there ain't nothing sadder in this life than a lonely dumbass."

I did as I was told, it was better than being called a dumbass again, even if it was true. I stood outside her door and before I could knock she opened it.

"What do you want?" Her voice was curt but at least she didn't shoot me, I took it as a good sign.

"Uh ... I wanted to see how you were ..."

"You sit outside there for an hour and that's all you got?"

"I'm feeling great by the way. I was shot and left alone in the hospital so it's been a blast!" The extra rest must have rejuvenated her powers of sarcasm.

"... and uh to say I'm sorry."

The color had returned to her face and she looked like her normal self, I missed her.

"Really, that's it? Ok, well you said it. BYE!"

I held the door open before it slammed shut forever.

"Can I come in?"

She looked at me pensively, deciding whether I deserved a chance to explain myself. Her voice softened.

"I don't scare easy Walt, but for the first time in my life I was really scared. I needed the one person I thought cared about me, to be there for me and you ran ... and I have never seen you run from anything."

"You haven't known me all that long."

I did what cowards do and avoided her glare, I looked at my feet instead and the sharpness returned to her tone. I deserved it and more.

"So if you don't mind I'm going to be pissed at you for a little while longer!"

"Quique amavit, cras amet."

"What?! I'm pissed at you and your comeback is in Latin?"

This time the door successfully slammed shut. I stood there wondering what to do next, when a few seconds later, the door opened again with similar gusto.

"What the hell does that mean anyway?" She was naturally indignant but fortunately for me, curiosity got the better of her.

"And may he who has loved, love tomorrow as well."

Her brow creased and she looked at me annoyed, I seem to have that effect on people.

"Argh, fine, come in, Latin buys you 5 minutes. Talk." Her arms were crossed and she scrutinized me steely eyed.

"When ... when Martha died ... I ... I thought death had hollowed me out ... and I came to accept living only half a life ... but then you came along with all your bluster ... well ... you wouldn't let me."

I half smiled but she looked down pursing her lips.

"At first, ... I thought ... when we were together, it was a distraction from the sadness, but it wasn't ... there was more."

I closed my eyes for a moment, taking myself back to the hospital and I could feel my heart start to race, I took a breath as tears threatened to well and fall.

"When I saw you lying on that table ... so still and pale, covered in so much blood ... I thought I lost you too ... the sadness ... the deep sadness just swept over me like a flood. I was drowning again ... and there was nothing left of me to take."

She looked up from the floor and her eyes lost their harshness or maybe it was pity.

"Henry ... ah ... he told me a story about a man on a roof in a flood waiting to be saved, but refusing to get on a boat when help came for him. He tells it a lot better than I could ... but I think he was trying to tell me ... Sometimes we don't always know what the help we need looks like."

"Vic ..." I held her face to look at me.

"Vic ... it was you ... you pulled me out of the flood when the water was over my head ... you saved me. But I didn't have the courage to do the same for you ... and I'm sorry."

Her eyes were rimmed red, moist with a pool of unshed tears. She had her almost grin, the expression she had when she was trying to stay angry at me but couldn't.

"I guess being called a boat in that context is a compliment."

"You are seriously infuriating you know that ... cause as far as apologies go ... that was pretty good."

She held on to the collar of my jacket and laid her head on my chest as I rested my chin on her hair. "I like that story, I liked it the first time I heard it yesterday when Henry was here."

"O.I.T"

"What's that?"

"Old Indian trick. Maybe he thought we both needed a boat."

I could feel her smile against me. I thought to myself, as I did many times before, thanks Henry.

"Promise me something, next time you feel like going arboreal ... talk to me first. You never know, I might join you. I hear the sightseeing and refreshments are great up there."

"I will."

"You do realize you've ruined me for anyone else."

"Who else is going start their apologies in Latin, most of those people are probably dead ... but you gotta be a little impressed that I knew it was Latin."

A knock at the door interrupted our reunion, I had forgotten Lucian was still waiting outside.

"If you two are back sittin' in a tree, I need a ride back to the facility, it's time for my meds ... unless you want me to die out here on the driveway while you two get some."


End file.
